Boday
by Ginomo
Summary: A newly joined Jadzia Dax meets an intriguing Gallamite captain and embarks on a non-traditional relationship with him.
1. Chapter 1

**Boday**

**By: Ginomo**

A newly joined Jadzia Dax meets an intriguing Gallamite captain and embarks on a non-traditional relationship with him.

* * *

_**2369**_

Terok Nor- no, it was Deep Space Nine now- was quickly becoming Captain Boday's favorite docking port. He'd had to come here while the Cardassian's commanded the station and he made his stops as quickly as he could, maybe stopping in the Ferengi bar for a quick bite of real food but that was it. Now, the place was actually enjoyable. Today he strolled casually into Quark's, ordered a drink and settled in to do some people watching. The new Federation crew members were an interesting bunch and he wanted to see what kind of trouble he could get himself into tonight.

There must have been a shift change because dozens of Starfleet's finest were filing in. His eyes rested on one in particular. She was tall, beautiful, poised, and alone. She ordered something from the Ferengi bartender, it looked to be just a cup of coffee. The bartender said something that he thought was funny, but the woman clearly did not. She took her coffee, found a seat by herself and started reading a padd intently.

Over the next 15 minutes, Boday saw three men make their way to the beautiful woman's table. Each one had spoken to her for only a minute or two before they walked away, tail between their legs. Boday smirked, knocked back the rest of his drink and decided to make himself number four.

"What are you doing here?"

The woman looked up at Boday, her face perplexed, "Excuse me?"

"Why come in here, plant yourself a few meters from the bar during the busiest time of the day and then proceed to turn away every man that wants to sit with you?"

"Because I prefer being alone," she answered, though her voice sounded as if she were asking a question instead of answering one.

Boday invited him to sit, and the woman didn't object, "So I ask again, what are you doing here?"

She smiled sheepishly, "Quark's coffee is better than the replicator in my quarters."

"Captain Boday," he said with a broad, confident smile, "I fly a Gallamite hauler."

The woman hesitated. She was trying to decide whether or not to send him on his way. This one seemed interesting, "Lieutenant Jadzia Dax, science officer."

"How long have you been here on the station?"

"I was part of the initial Starfleet crew that came aboard last month."

"Well, we are certainly happy to have you fine Federations here. Big improvement over the Cardassians."

"Um… you're welcome?"

The woman was an odd mix of both shy and confident. Sitting across from her, Boday could see the distinctive markings of a Trill along the side of her face and down her neck, "Joined?"

The question took Jadzia aback. In Trill culture, it was impolite to ask someone if they were joined since so few were able to achieve the social status that came with it. She cleared her throat, "Yes, I'm joined."

"But you're newly joined aren't you?"

"Who _are_ you?"

He laughed, "Someone who meets a lot of people."

"So you think you know me just because you stop at a lot of stations?"

"No," Boday paused, "But I'd like to."

This one was interesting, "I _am _newly joined. How can you tell?" Jadzia asked.

"Well, for one you're young," he began, "But mostly because you're trying too hard."

"Excuse me?"

"Drinking alone in a crowded bar, turning down one attractive man after another so you can be elusive while you read and drink coffee, it's clear you're trying hard to be more interesting than you really are."

Jadzia scoffed as she sat back in her chair and folded her arms across her chest, "There must be something wrong with me because you keep insulting me, yet for some reason I haven't asked you to leave."

"That's because I'm intriguing. Spend the night with me and I'll teach you how to be as well."

"Okay, I think I've had quite enough, _Captain_. If you don't mind, I'd-"

Boday laughed, "I didn't mean like _that. _You ever play Dabo?"

Jadzia blushed embarrassingly for her assumption, "No, but I've been watching for weeks trying to figure it out."

"M'Pella," Boday called the Dabo girl that was walking by without ever taking his eyes away from Jadzia, "Get us two spots at the next open Dabo table."

"Sure thing, Boday," the woman answered casually.

Jadzia tried to hide her giddy smile as she took another sip of her coffee.

* * *

Jadzia had spent her entire life being disciplined, focused and determined. She approached everything with the singular purpose of becoming a joined Trill. If it wasn't going to get her closer to that goal then she didn't do it, no questions asked. When her peers were enjoying themselves, she was studying. Then she got the Dax symbiont and now she felt like a different person. The intellectual and somewhat self conscious girl was slowly being overtaken by six other people. The recent hosts were the most dominant and Curzon and Torias were both insatiably outgoing and self assured.

This thing that she'd done last night, this was all Dax.

Jadzia turned her head slightly to the side and looked at the ruffled bed covers. The worst part was how conflicted she felt about it. Jadzia, that studious young girl she'd once been would have been mortified. A one night stand with a man she'd only known for a few hours… it was inconceivable. But Dax on the other hand, Dax liked it. No, Dax had _loved _it. Throwing strips of latinum at the dabo wheel, indulging in one drink after another, laughing loudly and falling into the arms of the strangely attractive and intriguing Gallamite captain had felt so… freeing. It was as if she'd locked herself up all those years and now, finally, she could breathe.

Boday was already up, getting himself dressed and ready to head back to his ship. He moved around her quarters as if he'd been here a dozen times before. His confidence bordered on cockiness and Jadzia was embarrassed at how attractive she found it.

"Good morning, beautiful," he said with his wide, toothy grin.

"Same to you."

"My ships been loaded up, so I'm off. I hope you had as much fun as I did last night."

Her face flushed. She was trying to play it cool but failing miserably, "I did. Will I see you again?" Jadzia silently scolded herself for sounding too eager.

"I get to the station several times a year, next time I'm here I'll definitely look you up."

"Okay."

Boday sat on the edge of the bed, trying to find the right way to both close the door on this, yet leave it open just a bit, "But don't wait for me. The next time you're having coffee alone in Quark's, don't be afraid to let someone sit down with you."

* * *

_**2371**_

Jadzia threw her head back and laughed harder than she had in ages, "There is no _way _that happened!"

Boday raised his eyebrows, "What can I say, I'm just that good."

"Whatever, you're also full of it."

He rolled over onto his back and as the two of them lounged in his bed and closed his eyes, "This next haul is going to be a long one, I probably won't get back this year. I'm going through the wormhole and into the Gamma Quadrant. My superiors want to try to start trade routes with some of those planets your crew keeps discovering over there."

Jadzia was sitting upright in the bed, her long bare legs folded, "As if this isn't weird enough, you're going to disappear for a year. My friends are starting to wonder what this is all about."

"_This_?"

"We've been doing this for over two years now and people are talking."

"So what?" Boday said, "I don't expect anyone to understand us."

"Sure, but, let's be realistic Boday. We can't do this forever.'

"Any why not?" he challenged her, "How long have you and Commander Sisko been friends?"

"Decades. Two lifetimes."

"And I bet you've been playing chess that whole time."

"We have…"

"This is no different. You two play chess, we have sex."

Jadzia laughed, "That's much harder to explain to people."

"Then don't," he said definitively, "You're a Dax. You can't expect those people to understand how you approach life. You've got _more _than one life to live and you can do what you want with this one."

"You're right, as usual," her tone changed and she smirked seductively, "So you're going to make me wait a whole year?"

Boday laughed, "You don't wait for me now. I certainly don't wait for you."

Jadzia thought about her 'wrestling' partner, "Hey, I thought we agreed to not talk about the others, you know I get jealous," she teased.

He sat up and kissed the tip of her nose, "Don't worry, you know you're my favorite."

Now it was her turn to laugh again, "Now you're lying. I know you've got a woman at every port."

"Two at Deep Space 7," that made her laugh more, "It's a big station."

Boday paused, reading her face. He'd gotten pretty good at this, keeping things light and fun with the women in his life. But every now and then things got sticky and he had to move on. He sincerely hoped that wasn't happening with Dax, she really was his favorite, "Is it your friends that are wanting to define us, or you?" he asked seriously.

The question took her aback, "You are the last man I'd ever want to _define _things with."

"You wound me, Jadzia."

She ignored his feigned hurt feelings, "But we can't kid ourselves, this isn't just chess. One day one of might want to define things with someone else."

"Seems like such a waste to chain yourself to one person with nothing but death to look forward to. It's like deciding to eat the same thing for dinner every night, forever. What's the point? How does that enrich our lives?"

"You sound like Curzon."

"Curzon was a smart man.

Jadzia sighed as she remembered her time on Meridian and how hard and fast she fell for Deral. In hindsight, it had been foolish to be willing to give up her whole life because she thought she was in love. She had so much to do, so much to experience as Jadzia Dax. She'd worked so hard for her symbiont and had almost not gotten one at all. Jadzia felt as if she owed it to Dax to be the most interesting version of herself that she could be. Settling down seemed like the opposite of that.

"You'd just better hope I don't forget you, seeing that I'm your favorite and all."

"Oh, Jadzia, there's no forgetting me."

* * *

_**2372**_

Commanders Worf and Jadzia Dax were walking through the habitat ring towards her quarters. Worf had been on station Deep Space Nine about eight months and in that time, Dax had become his closest friend. They worked together and spent much of their off time together. Lately, they'd been having dinner in her quarters instead of Quark's or the replimat.

As they turned the last corner, there was a man standing next to Dax's door, waiting casually as if he'd done it a dozen times before and had nowhere else to be.

"Boday?!" Jadzia couldn't have been more shocked. Instinctively, she ran to him and threw her arms around the Gallamite in surprise, "It's been so long! Where have you been? When did you get here?"

"We docked about 10 minutes ago. Of course I had to come straight to you."

A few seconds later and Worf was standing there as well. Jadzia cleared her throat and turned to introduce the two, "Captain Boday, this is Lieutenant Commander Worf, he's new to DS9 since you were last here. Worf, this is Boday, he's… well what is it that you're doing these days?"

"I spend most of my time in the Gamma Quadrant days overseeing duranium supply lines on my ship."

Worf shook the man's hand, "It is an honor to meet you," He felt an uncomfortable knot growing in his stomach that he could not explain. Dax knew this man and judging by her response to him they were obviously personally acquainted. That shouldn't bother him; he and Dax were just friends. But it did.

"So why are you two dressed alike?" Boday asked.

"Oh, this," Jadzia stammered nervously as she looked down at her black exercise outfit, "Commander Worf is helping me improve my Klingon martial arts skills. We just left the holosuite."

"Well, I'd hate to interrupt your plans, but Dax and I have a long standing chess game that I'd love to pick up again," Boday said with that toothy grin that implied he definitely wasn't talking about chess.

Jadzia's eyes darted between the two men, "Worf and I were about to have dinner…"

Worf spoke up, "It is fine, you obviously have some catching up to do, Commander."

"Well, If you're sure…" Jadzia began.

"Thank you, Worf," Boday interjected, "It has been a _very _long time."

Jadzia felt a dozen emotions and none of them made sense. It had been over a year since she'd last seen Boday, she figured he'd moved on and she didn't want to seem too eager by contacting him to find out why. So much had happened since they were last together. She'd been reunited with Lenara Kahn and dealt with having her heart broken in the midst of all that. And she'd become friends with Commander Worf.

_Worf is just a friend. Not the same as Lenara at all, _Jadzia reminded herself.

"I will see you later, Commander," Worf replied curtly, then turned to leave.

She wanted to stop him, to try to explain what was happening except there was no way she could explain. The look on Worf's face meant he knew what was going on. Jadzia had never been embarrassed about her trysts with Boday until now.

"A long-standing chess game?" Jadzia said as she and Boday entered her quarters, "Could you have been more obvious?"

Boday frowned, "I thought I was being discreet. What difference does it make?"

Her voice was irritated, "Why didn't you send me a message and let me know you were coming?"

"It was a last-minute thing and I thought it would be fun to surprise you. What's wrong? Were you and the Klingon _exercising _in the holosuite the way you and I _play chess_?"

She rolled her eyes, "Don't be so crude. Worf and I are friends, and I respect that friendship very much."

"Alright then, enough about him. How have you been?"

Jadzia swallowed the lump in her throat and put on her best smile. She invited Boday to sit down at the table and the two of them quickly got back into the rhythm that their conversations often took on. They laughed and joked and kept things light, never sharing too much or getting too serious.

The night ended the way it always did, almost out of habit more than desire. Being with Boday was fun, but tonight it felt like she'd eaten too much dessert or drank too much wine. As she lay in bed staring at the ceiling Jadzia couldn't stop thinking about the awkward exchange in the corridor. She was trying to figure out how she'd explain it to Worf the next time they were together. Maybe their friends were already telling him about she and Boday. Worf wouldn't understand. Or even if he did, what would he think?

Just then, it hit her. Once she realized it, Jadzia wondered how she hadn't seen it before, "I'm falling for Worf," she whispered into the darkness like she was confessing her soul. She had feelings for Worf- real, more than friends feelings. And it was crazy that it took sleeping with Boday again for her to see it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Boday**

**By: Ginomo**

**A newly joined Jadzia Dax meets an intriguing Gallamite captain and embarks on a non-traditional relationship with him.**

_Author's Note: This chapter is s__et during the Deep Space Nine episodes "Let He Who is Without Sin" (2373), "You are Cordially Invited" (2374), and "Penumbra" (2375)_

* * *

_**2373**_

The last few weeks had been like a whirlwind for Jadzia Dax. There was the usual hectic pace of life as a senior staff member on DS9 (a trip back in time that involved tribbles for example) but that really wasn't out of the ordinary. What really had her life turned upside down was the rather abrupt turn that her relationship with Worf had taken. Overnight they'd gone from friends to lovers and to say it had been a wild ride would be an understatement.

That said, so far today was turning out to be pretty quiet, Jadzia had even been able to carve out some time to work in her science lab. While she was analyzing microbial samples, she saw a flashing icon on the nearby computer display. Jadzia tapped the icon and a message appeared.

"_Back on DS9 tomorrow for some ship repairs. Lunch?_"

It was Captain Boday. It has been months since he was last on the station, and a lot had happened in that time. Jadzia immediately thought of Worf- she'd never explicitly told him about her relationship with Boday, only that they'd casually dated off and on. That wasn't a complete lie, but it definitely left out the details of their "chess games."

Jadzia tapped her fingers anxiously on the lab table. She and Boday _were_ just friends. There was no reason that she couldn't have lunch with a friend- it would be no different than Julian or Benjamin. Deep down, Jadzia was most nervous about how Boday would handle this new development in her personal life. But not too nervous to decline the invite.

"_Sure thing. Let's meet on the replimat._"

00000

"So what are we doing here on the replimat making small talk? Why aren't we in your quarters, or mine for that matter?"

"Because I need to talk to you about something," Jadzia began, "Something kind of serious."

"You haven't caught anything, have you?"

Jadzia laughed, "No I haven't, and if I had I got it from you."

"Hey, I stay up to date on all my shots," he quipped.

She laughed again, "I'm trying to be serious, Boday," she paused for a moment, "I'm seeing someone."

Boday felt his stomach clench. He reached for his glass and took a drink to hide his shock, "Wasn't it your rule that we don't talk about the others?" Boday replied casually.

"It was _our_ rule, but this is different," she sighed, "This is going to change things between us."

"Wait, you're not married are you?"

"No!" Jadzia exclaimed, "I'm just seeing someone."

"Well then how does that change things?"

Jadzia sighed again, "Please don't make this difficult, you know what I'm trying to say."

Boday sat back in his chair, folding his arms across his chest, "I need you to come out and say it so you can hear how ridiculous it sounds for yourself."

"Come on, Boday," she groaned in annoyance.

"It's your Klingon exercise partner, isn't it? I could tell that day you introduced us that you were into him. Have you two have been together all this time?" he asked, genuinely curious.

"We were just friends then," Dax felt like a teenager trying to explain her boyfriend to her parents, "Our relationship is new and I want to give it a chance. This thing between you and I will just complicate things."

"So you're playing it straight and being monogamous, huh? Is that what you want?"

"I'm not entirely sure what I want out of this. But I know it has no chance if I'm fooling around with you on the side. Worf would never understand."

"Sounds like he doesn't understand you, then."

Jadzia didn't want to admit that might be true so she pivoted the conversation with a witty retort, "I'm sure there's someone else you can find to keep you occupied for a while."

"Eh, I'll live," Boday said with a dismissive wave of his hand, "Besides, I don't think my pride could handle going behind a Klingon."

Jadzia rolled her eyes, "Ugh, don't be crude."

"I'm just saying, I hear their battle prowess translates surprisingly well to other areas."

"This one's got a lot to learn," Jadzia smirked as she took a sip from her cup, "But he's also got a very good teacher."

"Oh now look who's being crude," Boday said with a laugh, "So he's a bit of a project then?"

"It's a work in progress, in more ways than one," she paused, and then looked him in the eyes, "And I'd like to give it my full attention."

Boday nodded, "I can respect that," he sighed in feigned defeat, "Fine, enjoy your little project. You know where to find me when you get bored with it."

* * *

"Try it again,"

Doctor Julian Bashir tapped a few controls on the terminal. After a moment, the computer emitted an error noise.

"Dammit!" Chief Miles O'Brien cursed, "Let me try again…"

Lt. Commander Worf was with them in the medical bay of the Defiant, his arms crossed in his usual manner, "Perhaps Lt. Commander Dax could be of service to us."

"We're not going to get any work out of Jadzia anytime soon," Julian mumbled under his breath with a snickered laugh. Miles joined in, obviously aware of what Bashir was alluding to.

Worf was not, "Why? Is something wrong?"

Their faces straightened, "No, it's nothing. It's just, you know, when Boday shows up she tends to… disappear," Miles sputtered out nervously. Though neither had come out and said anything official yet, word on the station was that Worf and Jadzia were much more than just friends now. There were even rumors that they were planning a trip to Risa together.

Worf frowned, even more than he already was, "He is here?"

They could hear the anger rising in his voice, "They were having lunch on the promenade a little while ago, you know, just old friends catching up," Julian replied. He felt guilty at how much pleasure he was taking from watching Worf get upset.

"Yeah, I'm sure it's nothing," Miles added casually.

Worf's face was hot, and his fists began to clench. These two men were laughing at him, laughing because Jadzia was making a fool of him with her former lover- or maybe it wasn't former. This had been his biggest worry about starting a relationship with Dax, but she had assured him that she was ready to become a one-man woman. Worf wondered if Boday knew that.

"I'm sure it's just lunch, Worf, I was only trying to be funny."

"I know that!" Worf snapped defensively. He quickly calmed himself, realizing that his tone made it seem like he was worried that it more than just lunch, "I know that. Let's get back to the medical database upload, I am sure the three of us can make this work without Commander Dax."

Miles and Julian exchanged trepidatious glances, then went back to tapping buttons on the display.

* * *

_**2374**_

Captain Boday strolled into Quark's bar after his latest run. The gamma quadrant had been closed off to Gallamite trading since the war with the Dominion began, but Boday had contacts elsewhere that kept him busy. The irony was that since he wasn't doing gamma quadrant long hauls, he'd had plenty of time to get back to DS9, like the old days. But unlike the old days, Jadzia was now occupied with her boyfriend Worf. Twice when he came to the station the two of them were away together- once to Starbase 63 and another time on some Klingon ship. Then the last time he was here all the Starfleet officers were gone while the Dominion occupied the station.

But now he was back again and things were back to normal. Boday was secretly hoping that _everything_ was back to normal and that Jadzia was done with her little monogamy experiment.

Quark's eyes grew large when he saw who'd entered the bar, "Captain Boday, sorry but the bar's closed for a private event that's starting soon."

"Does that mean I can't get a drink?"

Quark thought a moment, "Well, if you've got the money I'm certainly not going to say no."

Boday sat at the empty bar while Quark's staff buzzed around him hanging banners and rearranging tables and chairs. Quark poured him his usual, "So what's the special event?"

"You really don't know?" Quark asked.

Boday laughed, "What, are you renting the place out for weddings now or something?"

"As a matter of fact, I am. And you'll never guess for who."

Boday slowly sat his drink down. He looked around and his eyes locked onto one of the nearby banners that had just been erected. The red and gold symbol of the Klingon empire was emblazoned on it. His eyes met Quark's, and the Ferengii gave Boday an apologetic "better luck next time" shrug.

"Where is she?"

"Probably in her quarters getting ready. But I don't think-"

Without a word, Boday was on his feet and out the door.

* * *

When Jadzia heard the door chime, she knew for certain it wouldn't be Worf. In addition to being tied to Klingon traditions, Worf also chose to honor the human tradition of the bride and groom not seeing one another before the wedding. It must be Benjamin coming to give her one last word of advice. Maybe he could help her tie her corset nice and tight.

"Enter," she said.

The door slid open, "What the hell are you doing?"

Dax had been sitting on the couch lacing her boots but when she heard his voice she jumped to her feet, "Boday, what are you doing here?"

"Are you getting married?" he demanded.

"I am. What are you doing here?" she asked again.

"The same thing I've been doing for years, Jadzia."

She put her hands on her hips in exasperation, "Of all the days for you to show up..."

"The last time I saw you, you told me you were just 'giving this a chance.' This looks like a whole lot more than that."

"That was over a year ago. A lot has changed."

They both stood there looking at one another. For the first time in his life, Boday was at a loss for words, "Well, you look amazing," he said breathlessly, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"It had been so long, I didn't think you'd be interested in my regular old, boring life," what she didn't want to say was that she hadn't really thought about him much over the last year.

"I'll never _not _be interested in you, Jadzia Dax."

"Boday, as much as I'd love to catch up," Jadzia sat back down and continued working on her boot laces, "I can't stress enough what a _really_ bad time this is."

"Don't do this, Jadzia."

"Don't do what, Boday?" she parroted back mockingly.

"Dammit Dax, I'm serious. You don't have to do this."

She looked up at him soberly, "And what reason would I have not to?"

"Look, you're having fun with Worf, I get it. And I'm sure you think this is what you want to do right now. But what about 5, 10, even 30 years from now? You're closing yourself off to everyone else for the rest of your life for this one man? It's ridiculous."

Jadzia chuckled to herself at the irony of Boday trying to talk her out of getting married right after Sisko had talked her into it, "If you don't understand then there is nothing I can say that will convince you."

"I suppose you're going to tell me you're in love," Boday said, rolling his eyes.

Jadzia stood. She approached him and affectionately took his hand in hers, "You know, I remember the night we met like it just happened. You had me pegged perfectly- I was trying very hard to be interesting because I thought that's what a Dax should be. And what we've had, it was the height of _interesting_. But the thing is, I'm not trying to be anything anymore. I'm just me, and I'm getting married."

"You know, you could have sent me an invitation."

"I don't think my husband-to-be would have appreciated that," Jadzia replied with a laugh.

"Then let me at least kiss the bride."

Jadzia smiled and opened her arms to embrace Boday. He kissed her cheek lightly, "You really do look stunning. I hope Worf knows what an amazing woman he's getting."

"He does. Now, help me get this dress zipped up so I can go get married."

* * *

_**2375**_

The inside of Captain Boday's ship felt oddly familiar. Ezri Dax had to get used to that- going places she'd never been or seeing people she'd never met, yet feeling completely familiar. Although, it seemed a little grimier than she remembered. It had been years since Jadzia had visited Boday on his ship, since before she and Worf were together. Ezri wondered again why she'd agreed to have dinner with him, and here of all places. She wasn't as strong as Jadzia, she didn't know how to flirt and keep men at bay the way her former host had. Then again, even Jadzia hadn't been able to resist the charms of the Gallamite captain.

Ezri stood in front of the door to his quarters trying to think of something witty to say when she entered. Jadzia always had something witty to say. Ezri, on the other hand, just over thought everything and ended up in awkward-

"So how long were you planning to just stand here?"

The door opened and there he was. He looked taller than before- but she had to remember that she was just shorter. His smile was just as big and inviting as it had always been.

"How did you know I was here?"

"I've got surveillance all over this ship, can't trust anyone these days. I was starting to think you were about to leave."

She blushed, "I almost did," Ezri admitted as she entered.

"Which is why I took the liberty of opening the door. This is quite possibly one of the most interesting things to happen to me in a long time, I couldn't have you walking away."

"That's every day of my life since being joined to Dax," she said as she took a seat.

Boday sat across from her, "I'd love to hear all about it."

The two old friends yet new acquaintances chatted as she filled him in on how she came to have the Dax symbiont and what life had been like. Boday had never had the experience of knowing a joined Trill into a second lifetime, so to him it was all very fascinating. Though as he listened to her, it became harder to separate that intrigue and fascination from the raw emotions that his memories of Jadzia brought to the surface.

Ezri could feel the change in tone from him. They were quiet for a moment, taking awkward bites of food as his face took on a dour expression, "You know," he began quietly, "I saw her, what turned out to be only a few weeks before she died."

Ezri's brow furrowed in confusion, "I don't remember that…"

"I saw her, but I don't think she saw me. I was on the station for a few days and had planned to stop and say hello to her, maybe see if she was bored with the whole marriage thing yet. As I was heading to Quark's I saw her and her husband walking together on the promenade," Boday's voice changed a bit, taking on a far away, almost dreamy tone, "She had her arm looped in his as they walked together. They stopped at an airlock and she kissed the tip of his nose and smiled at him. They way they looked at one another…" his voice trailed off and he was quiet for a moment. "Her husband stepped into the airlock and Jadzia stood there by herself, watching him I suppose. I could have gone to her then, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I knew my presence would ruin what was obviously a tender moment between them. So I walked away, and I never got to see her again."

"He was leaving for a mission on the Klingon ship _Rotarran_ for a few days," Ezri replied, her memory filling in the blanks.

"And it was in that moment I realized that I was in love with her."

Ezri's mouth dropped open, "What?"

"I think I was in love with Jadzia."

"You're not serious?"

"Of course I am."

Ezri tried to contain herself but she couldn't help it. She tossed her head back and let out a belly laugh like she hadn't in a long time.

Boday was starting to get annoyed. He'd just poured out his heart and she was laughing. That was the kind of insensitive thing that he would do, "I can't imagine why you think this is funny."

"Why does everyone think that they're in love with Jadzia?"

"I've never felt like this about anyone, and believe me I've had lots of opportunities."

"I'm sorry for laughing," Erzi said, calming herself, "So when did you make this discovery?"

"That's what I'm trying to tell you, it was that day. When I saw her there with her husband, I knew _I_ was in love with her. But it was too late."

"It sounds to me like you were just upset that she was with someone else. Jadzia knew you for three years before she even met Worf, and then it was two more years before she got married. You thought she'd always be there whenever you wanted. If my memory serves, she dropped a dozen hints over the years about wanting to get serious and you dismissed her every time. If you really loved her, she could have been yours."

Boday took a drink from his glass. He had convinced himself of his unrequited love and wasn't going to let go of it so easily.

"On her wedding day, you told her not to marry Worf. She asked you why."

He thought for a moment, then let out a defeated sigh, "I didn't say, 'Because I'm in love with you.' I didn't say anything, really."

Ezri nodded, "That's right."

"Would it have made a difference?" he asked, his voice tinged with regret.

Ezri lowered her eyes and smiled to herself, "No, it wouldn't have. She loved Worf... completely. I don't know if I can explain it in a way that will make sense," she chuckled, "It didn't even make sense to Jadzia. But they were so intensely devoted to one another, it was amazing."

Boday watched the young woman's face change as she re-lived what were obviously strong emotions, "What's that like for you?"

"Having these memories can be overwhelming. Sitting here talking about it like this, it's hard not to feel the way I did the last time he and Jadzia saw each other."

"Does Worf know any of this?"

"It's complicated. _Very_ complicated. He and I can barely be in the same room. And even if that wasn't the case, it's forbidden for a Trill to continue relationships from previous lives."

"You've been friends with Sisko for three lifetimes now."

"Friendships are okay. Like I said, it's complicated."

"So that means you and I can keep being friends?"

"We can be friends," Erzi began hesitantly, "But I'm just a simple girl and you and Jadzia's _arrangement_ is way more than I can handle."

He smirked, "So then I shouldn't dust off my chess board?"

Ezri laughed, "No, you should not," she paused, and then returned his coy smirk, "But maybe we can come up with something of our own..."

~finis

February 3, 2020

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